A Tale of the Seashore
by Aliki
Summary: Kyouya leaves the sea for Tamaki's side. There is waves, sand, sunsets, silence, and an ocean of words unspoken between them. Sometimes Kyouya think this is crazy, but the shine in Tamaki's eyes tells him otherwise. KyouyaxTamaki, AU


**a/n:** hi. C: this was the product of singing little mermaid songs and hanging out at the beach. a ouran (kyouya x tamaki) version of the little mermaid. kind of odd, i do have a few important things to say:

i haven't finished Ouran yet. i do not know detail for detail the plot, though i have a vague idea. please excuse any inaccuracies- i tried my best, and i also made it AU partially for this reason. if there is a major plothole here somewhere, do not hesitate to point out, but please tell me what is correct so i can fix it next time. also, i may have a few typos, since i typed this very fast.

thank you.

warnings: AU, sadness, slash, and maybe one or two instances of naughty language.

disclaimer: i do not own anything- ouran or the little mermaid.

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A Tale of the Seashore

He was born to the sea, as the third son of the Ocean King. His father rules the water (and Kyouya's life) with an iron fist and a silver trident, and Kyouya bows his head respectfully. But lord, he wants to leave.

His hair is jet black, like ink, his eyes gray, calm, and intelligent. He sings in the back of the choir, has never had a solo song, but that doesn't stop his voice from being lovely. When their fathers dismisses them, he swims off immediately, slipping into the depths of the ocean, because sometimes he is resigned to his fate. At those times, he prowls the dark seabed and looks for a place to keep himself from breaking down.

But sometimes, just sometimes, he skims the surface of the sea, swims with the leaping fish, and watches the sailors on their boats. When the night is still, the sea is calm, and sailors sit on the shores making merry, Kyouya wonders what it is like, to be human.

He thinks he'll never know.

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It starts out as a night like that, with a storm on the horizon, but not quite there yet. Kyouya can't stand his shell encrusted walls any longer, so he leaves. The surface air is fresh, different, revitalizing. It's a night like that when the sailors celebrate on their boat, and Kyouya hears music and laughter, sees bright lights onboard.

He watches curiously- Sees a young man, blonde and bright, with a dog by his side. There's a flute in his hand, golden buckles on his boots, and a grin on his face. He makes merry with the rest of the men, entertains them, regales them with stories and silly ideas, and Kyouya listens. It gets to the point of annoying him.

Kyouya and the sailors are so caught up in the festivities, they forget the storm. But the storm doesn't forget them- It drives their boat into the rocks, throws the young man over board.

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Until then, Kyouya had been jealous, almost, of his carefree ways and his happy smile.

But something in those blue-violet eyes draws him closer. The mer-prince isn't sure why, but he feels obligated to save him. He grasps the young man's delicate wrists, pulls his head over the surface, and drags him out to shallower water, though his tail is cumbersome there.

Kyouya realizes that he is beautiful. For some reason, he has this senseless urge to push his hair back and kiss his closed eyelids, but restrains himself. He studies those delicate features, rests a hand on his chest to feel the blonde sailors breathing. Kyouya holds his hand, just for a moment, and wills him to wake up. And just for a moment, there is nothing.

But then the sailor's chest rises, and weakly, his pale eyelids flutter. Kyouya stops singing the lullaby he didn't realize he had started, and leave, because the third son of the Ocean King shouldn't be here, doing this.

Still, he kind of hopes the sailor saw him, remembers him somehow. Because he has given Kyouya something new- The drive to stop swimming, and stand.

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So he goes to see the sea-witch. He swims through caverns of murky water and strange fish, and down where sunlight doesn't penetrate the depths, Kyouya finds her. Her hair is limp, her eyes are hollow, but her smiles stretches and cackles at his request, though he remains impassive. She tells him it will hurt- Every step will be likes knives. She tells him he only has so much time till the sailor has to kiss him, tells him he will turn to sea-foam on the ocean if the sailor doesn't.

"It'll only cost you your voice," she informs him, lacing her knobbly, twisted fingers together. Kyouya tells her to take it, he has nothing important to say. She mixes together something he doesn't trust, but takes anyway, and he she takes all the words he might have said, all the songs he might have sang.

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The next things he knows he is on sand, the small grain rubbing against his damp skin and sticking to his... feet. These new feet, attached to legs long and slender. Finally, he stands on them. His steps are shaky, he is unbalanced, but he has watched enough men to figure it out. One foot in front of the other, over and over- soon it's natural. For a moment, he feels strong. He strolls along the beach, sees a castle on the horizon, and then he sees _him_. Kyouya keeps his distance, but perhaps he seemed too surprised, because the mysterious young man smiles, says,

"I come out here sometimes, when I'm sick of home. I haven't seen you around here before- Do you live around here? My name's Tamaki, by the way," the words are simple, but somehow his speech is flowerier, sweeter.

Kyouya shrugs his shoulders at the question, because what can he say? His legs feel weak suddenly (he wonders briefly if they are malfunctioning) and he sits on a large piece of driftwood, feeling immensely stupid. His breath catches in his throat when this, Tamaki, sits by him, asks him a few more questions, says a few more unimportant things.

"Can you speak," he finally asks. Kyouya shakes his head and wonders if his exchange with the Sea-Witch was foolish. Because Tamaki has questions, and Kyouya can't answer.

Tamaki takes him home to his castle-by-the-sea, and Kyouya isn't too surprised that his sailor is a prince- There was nobility in his features. Tamaki teaches him his ways, guesses at his origins, and seems unbothered by Kyouya's lack of knowledge about this new world. He keeps him, and Kyouya doesn't realize it, but he's been adopted like a dog.

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Time passes, and somehow, the mysterious silent young man- 'ocean boy'- becomes a fixture at the prince's side. Tamaki confides in him, and it seems he is honest and real only with him. Kyouya gives him comfort, silence, a break from his brightly lit, glittering existence. Sometimes Kyouya wonders if it isn't too obvious- Sometimes he thinks the guards they pass by for their daily walk _know_. The tall one looks silent, firm, and perhaps a bit wild- But intelligent, and Kyouya wouldn't be surprised. The short blonde one watches with those soft eyes, sees them turn the curve of the path.

Sometimes he worries about the visiting nobles, and their lovely daughters. Do those girls seem ideal for Tamaki? Because with every step he takes, he is reminded of his promise to the Sea-Witch.

Even though it feels like hell when he walks, he dances, glides across the ballroom with some prettily blushing lady, as he's seen Tamaki do. And when he looks over her shoulder, and sees the prince conversing with the daughter of one of the courtiers, a sensible looking young girl...

He dances, but lord, it _hurts_.

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It's one night, soft and starry and warm, when they lay on the beach. The splash of waves and the murmur of a party they left together are the only sounds for a while. In the silence, Kyouya shivers, but Tamaki thinks it was just the breeze, and then he asks,

"What would happen if I got married?"

Kyouya raises an eyebrow, and mentally pictures this. Tries to imagine cake and bells and flowers and a dress, complete with a bride, like he saw at the wedding of a young red-headed noble. A white bouquet of roses, the kind Tamaki loves second only to red. He wonders hesitantly, why Tamaki is asking this, but his face betrays no distress. The blonde puts a hand on his, leans forwards and whispers-

"You know Haruhi?"

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Somehow, it's come to this. Tamaki wants Kyouya to be the best man, and Kyouya agrees, because this is no time to be selfish.

He missed that opportunity long ago.

He is called to get the flowers- A dozen white roses- to see Haruhi in her wedding gown, taste the cake- but someone else makes the speech. Kyouya wouldn't have been able to anyway, with the lump in his throat.

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That night, he cools his pain-ridden feet in the ocean and looks out on the ocean, where he will float as sea-foam. Cursing his failure to act sooner, to make a move. He feels the salty breeze, tastes the bitter water, and knows- suddenly, he longs for the ocean. He craves the soft ocean current, the blanket of water. The sounds of the sea, and every creature in it. The way light filters in from the surface, in the shallower water. For a moment, he misses the palace, the pretty mermaids that never measured up to Tamaki, (maybe even his family).

He misses his voice, recalls sleepless nights when his feet are killing him, the cold breeze is bothering him, and his heart aches. When Tamaki slips into his room to talk, and Kyouya has this crazy urge to say that it's improper, if it will make Tamaki just _go away. _But he pushes his glasses up, wordlessly invites him in, and wonders what he's gotten himself into. Moonlight on the bed and Tamaki's hair, and the lullabies he wants to sing catch in his throat, and it's all that damn blonde's fault.

Not that he has much reason to worry about those things now- This life as he knows it will soon be over.

But somewhere in the distance, he hears the soft voices of his kin. His sister is at the shore, her hair cut off, and tells him- She knows of his deal with the Sea-Witch, she has gone to her. She has traded her hair for a knife, and tells him- If he kills Tamaki with it, he will be able to return home, to the ocean, before it's too late.

Kyouya takes the knife, and she leaves, wishes him luck.

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Halfway to the palace-by-the-sea, where the prince and his new wife sleep, Kyouya throws the knife into the ocean. He hopes it sinks back where it came from- Back to hell, and the devil herself.

He creeps into Tamaki's room to say goodbye, because this is the last night. Moonlight dapples the sleeping man's face, illuminates the bride next to him. Kyouya finally lets himself brush Tamaki's hair back, kiss his delicate eyelides. Those violet eyes flutter open, but Kyouya draws back with no shame, because he is so sure this is the end.

Tamaki steps out of bed, and the springs crack. Haruhi doesn't stir, and the blonde prince looks at her with mixed affection, worry, and something that Kyouya recognizes, but can't place. Then he turns, sees Kyouya, and his expression is contemplative, melancholy. He leads the man who has been his best friend by the hand to the balcony. Strains of sea-air ruffle Kyouya's hair, and the sea-prince notices that Tamaki isn't smiling- But he didn't really expect him too, did he? He's wondering how to say goodbye without words, when Tamaki drops his hands, and tells him.

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(everything).

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**a/n:** thank you for reading. please review. C:

_--aliki_


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